European greenfinch Carduelis chloris

Features

The European greenfinch is a shapely sparrow-sized bird with a strong beak. Its strong, cone-shaped beak tells us that it is extremely herbivorous. The European greenfinch is a sociable bird that is active during the day and nests in small colonies.

Species	Bird
Living space	Field, Meadow
Size	15 cm
Weight	25 - 30 g

Description

During the mating season, the males are olive green, and their neck, back, shoulders, chest, abdomen and rump are yellowish green. The cheeks, hips and the central part of the wings are grey, and the tips of the wings and tail are black. They are characterised by a vivid yellow colour on the front edge of their wings and on the outer edge of their tail. The vividness of the green colour fades in autumn. As a result, in winter the males resemble the females more, which are all greenish-grey. The females' appearance is only slightly enlivened by the yellow colour on their wings and tail, although this yellow is far paler than in the males. The chicks are similar to females, but noticeably longitudinally striped. Most of its diet consists of various seeds and berries. The European greenfinches live in different habitats. They especially love an open cultural landscape with a lot of borders, and they nest in urban parks and larger gardens. In Slovenia, the European greenfinch is considered to be a very common and widespread nesting bird. It is here year-round and in winter it becomes part of a larger flock. Because of the lack of its favourite food in winter, it regularly visits bird-feeders. There it especially likes eating cannabis and sunflower seeds.